A car thief fleeing police across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge tried to escape by climbing underneath the lengthy span in a death-defying attempt to make his getaway.
Heart-pounding drone footage released by the San Francisco Police Department showed the dramatic ordeal unfold on April 1.
The aerial footage shows several police vehicles pursuing the unidentified suspect, who eventually stops the car on the Bay Bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland.
He is then seen climbing under the span 4.5-mile span, at one point hanging from a steel beam, until crisis negotiators coaxed him back up and arrested him.
“With crisis negotiators and aerial support in place, the incident concluded with the suspect taken into custody without further incident,” the SFPD said.
The California Highway Police was also involved in the pursuit, which began when police discovered that the suspect was reported to be driving a stolen Honda.
“A vehicle pursuit then ensued throughout city streets that eventually made its way onto the Bay Bridge,” SFPD Officer Robert Rueca told KTVU. Officers attempted to use spike strips to stop the car, but they didn’t work.
Drones were then used to locate the suspect and track his position. Rueca said such technology has been essential in fighting crime.
“The voters of San Francisco have allowed us to use this technology to make the streets as safe as we can,” he said.
It’s likely the officers on the bridge would have been unable to locate the suspect, who was completely underneath the bridge at one point, without aerial support.
Police have been allowed to use drones since San Francisco voters passed Proposition E in 2024. The initial drone deployment includes six drone units.
The SFPD says the drones “have multiple public safety benefits for the city of San Francisco, including faster response times, increased situational awareness for officers, more precision, the ability to integrate with other technology, and many other uses.”
